The pupil expander of my issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,553 comprises a ring of silicone or other suitable soft plastic tubular material (e.g. Silastic.RTM., Silicone, Dow Corning, Durometer Value of about 80) with an outside diameter of 8.2 mm and an inside diameter of 7.0 mm. The ring has a C-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the peripheral opening at the outside edge. The ring is formed into an incomplete circular shape, having a gap approximately 3.5 mm wide to permit surgical maneuvers with the ring. That gap is bridged by a strap between the open ends of the ring. There are also two ears therein with holes, which are used for manipulation of the device inside and outside of the eye.
In operation, when one desires to insert the pupil expander into the eye during a surgical procedure, the expander is first mounted on a carrier block or delivery case, as described in my issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,054 with said description being incorporated by reference herein. The pupil expander is then stretched into an elongated condition wherein the pupil expander is in a convenient position for removal and handling.
My previous U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,553 and 5,322,054 describe the use of forceps to manipulate the pupil expander. Because of the extremely small size of the pupil expander, the handling thereof is very delicate and sensitive, and ordinary forceps are not adapted for easy manipulation of the pupil expander. When forceps are used, a second tool, known as a spatula or lens manipulator, is required to hold the expander in place against the iris sphincter while the forceps tips are withdrawn so as to deposit the expander in the eye. Coordinated withdrawal of the forceps and spatula is a difficult and tedious task. There is a need for a single insertion tool that will both hold (or store) and slidably deposit the expander in the eye.
My co-pending application Ser. No. 07/959,055 describes a pupil expander inserting apparatus that combines the spatula and holding tool into one device. The apparatus for inserting a pupil expander disclosed therein provides selectively slidable movement of a blade with respect to a spatula fixed on a housing, but does not provide for smooth infinitely variable blade movement. Furthermore, because this apparatus is designed to be durable and reusable, it must be cleaned, sterilized, and loaded with another pupil expander before the next use. This apparatus is also composed almost entirely of specialized components which are generally expensive to produce.
It is therefore a principle object of this invention to provide a disposable apparatus for easily grasping and manipulating the pupil expander of my U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,553 so as to insert the expander into an eye without the need for a second instrument to manipulate the pupil expander.
A further object of this invention is to provide an improved storing and insertion tool for inserting a pupil expander into an eye.
A further object of this invention is to provide a self-retaining tool for holding the iris in a retraced position while a pupil expander is inserted into the eye.
A further object of this invention is to provide an insertion tool with a blade having a securing hole in which the strap of the pupil expander can be tucked so as to hold the expander without assistance from other structures on the insertion tool such that the assembly of the insertion tool, especially the loading of the pupil expander on the blade, can be broken down into subtasks and modules which facilitate more economical production and convenient surgical use.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.